Fall Into Blackness
by Mrs.GingerHinkley
Summary: Bit by bit Bellatrix falls into a dark insanity. Her sisters suffer both physically and emotionally as they watch her fall. But in the end, it is Bellatrix who suffers the greatest loss. In three scenes; please read and review.
1. Andromeda Stands

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.

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Two hooded fingers glided through the cold darkness. One ominous, the other terrifying, they were both sinister and formidable. Underneath their hoods, one bore a tightlipped, rigid expression, the other's mouth curved into a dangerous smile. The two women were challenged by no one. The filth that lined the ally, usually begging money from any sort of wealth, stirred only to look at their feet; they pointedly avoided catching the eyes of the two women. Indeed, the ally had deserted considerably since their arrival.

Narcissa Malfoy hardly took notice. She was not unused to this sort of pedestal. Her normal, haughty impassiveness was maintained at the highest level as she walked. It was only natural for the rest of the wizarding community to stoop for her; a pure-blood, a Malfoy, a Black.

Bellatrix Lestrange walked aside her sister as a complete opposite. Where Narcissa had stood chin-up, shoulders back, and dispassionate, Bellatrix seemed to lean forward as she gazed around at those still brave enough to wander about the street. Her fingers twitched around her wand. A giddy recklessness and a violent power filled her. There was no greater thrill than to have completed the Dark Lord's bidding successfully. The cowering shadows were only more proof of her success. It wasn't her sister they feared, it was her.

They walked with the wind blowing in their faces. Narcissa made a movement to keep her hood from falling off her head. Bellatrix did not; laughing as the wind swept the hood away from her head, her hair cascading down her shoulders. She was almost dancing as she walked, jeering at the witch who passed quickly, her head down. Narcissa walked slowly and coolly behind Bellatrix. She too noticed the other witch, but said nothing. Instead she stopped as the unknown witch managed a furtive but curious glance, meeting Narcissa's eyes.

Bellatrix swung around when she noticed her sister's footsteps had stopped.

"Cissy," she hissed, "Don't dawdle, the Dark Lord must know right away…"

But her voice trailed off as she noticed the witch that was now staring intently at Narcissa, as though her legs were locked, unmoving.

A slow, deadly exhilaration enveloped every feature of Bellatrix. Her fingers twirled her wand rapidly in anticipation. The Dark Lord could wait five more minutes. After all, what was the use of doing a job right if you couldn't celebrate a little…

Bellatrix sauntered back to where Narcissa and the stranger stared. She looked at her sister curiously and then back at the stranger.

Finally the stranger lifted her hood and glared straight at Bellatrix.

"Bella," she said quietly.

Bellatrix quickly masked a look of shock with a smirk. The stranger was no stranger at all. She had the same dark hair, the same dark eyes, but a filthy traitor heart.

"Andy," Bellatrix exclaimed in an unnatural, sickly sweet voice that was filled with venom, "…my dear, Sister, how long it has been."

Narcissa's eyes turned to her eldest sister. She knew the look on Bellatrix's face, but its familiarity was no comfort. There was a dangerous insanity about it, Narcissa noted, as Bellatrix's fingers were white around her wand.

"Bella," Narcissa hissed urgently, "We must leave. The Dark Lord-"

"-will be pleased to hear that we rightfully punished a blood traitor," Bellatrix whispered.

Andromeda looked into her sister's gleaming dark eyes and was strangely transfixed. She did not recognize the monster her sister had become. This deranged creature, this lunatic whom some feared as much as the Dark Lord himself, this woman could not be her beautiful Bellatrix, her sister.

Underneath her cloak, Andromeda's grip tightened around her wand. She wasn't going to be stupid, however misfortunate the little family reunion.

Narcissa shook her head swiftly as though a warning of caution to Andromeda.

Bellatrix, seeing Andromeda's movement raised an eyebrow.

"You _dare_ challenge me, Andy?" Bellatrix said in a low, quiet voice.

Andromeda nodded, though inside she couldn't help but shiver.

Narcissa didn't dare move as though worried any movement might trigger a vicious outburst.

"_Your own sister?_ Really, how callous," Bellatrix mocked wildly.

"You are no sister of mine," Andromeda snarled as she thought of Sirius.

As if reading her mind, Bellatrix smiled sadly. "Did I kill your favorite cousin? Was poor Sirius to weak to even put up a fight?" she simpered stroking her sister's cheek.

Andromeda's stomach turned over violently as her sister's fingers touched her face. Her skin burned at her older sister's touch. But the words stung harder.

Andromeda threw her fist into Bellatrix's face; there was a sickening crack.

Blood poured out of her nose as Bellatrix smirked. "Episky," she said, almost jeering at the ease with which she fixed her nose. "Did your mudblood of a husband teach you how to duel, Andy? Or did you just forget how to use a wand?"

Narcissa felt the air grow sharp and electric as Bellatrix purred, "I know, why don't I show you? I'm sure you won't forget after this…"

"Stupefy!"

Bellatrix danced out of the way of the spell.

"Not so easily, Andy."

Andy's brow furrowed, she thought of every injustice her sister had caused the wizarding world. A maddening thought crept into her mind; what it would be like to give her sister a taste of her own medicine…

"Expeliarmus!" she cried, gleeful as Bellatrix's wand flew out of its owner's hand.

Bellatrix teetered a little from laughter, but did not look worried in the least.

Andromeda knew that it was too easy. She knew her sister wasn't putting up a fight, yet. But a furious drive pulsed through her as she jabbed her wand under Bellatrix's chin. It was her duty to avenge all those wizards and muggles who had been tormented to death.

"C-cru," Andromeda stuttered, suddenly feeling weak and foolish. "Cru…"

"The spell," Bellatrix cooed softly, her teeth bared in a grin that was inches away from Andromeda, "is Crucio."

In a swift, elegant movement, Bellatrix had spun around, snatching the wand out of Andromeda's slack grip so that it was now pointed at the face of its master.

"Let's see if we can't get this right," Bellatrix mused, raising her sister's wand above her head. "I'm sure we can…"

Narcissa fidgeted on the spot but remained silent.

"CRUCIO!"

Andromeda was no longer standing; the strength of the curse knocked her over almost immediately. She writhed, gasping with horror as her own wand inflicted unimaginable pain on her body.

Bellatrix stopped for a moment, as though wondering if Andromeda was going to beg and plead. But Andromeda remained silent, her teeth gritted with a determination not to acknowledge the intensity of the curse.

Almost airily, Bellatrix started again, "Crucio…"

Andromeda tried to fight off the curse. She willed her self to ignore the fiery pain that galloped through her body. Though she struggled, twisting and turning abnormally, Andromeda's tongue was silent.

"What's the matter? Too proud to scream, Andy?" Bellatrix panted, her breasts heaving as exhilaration coursed through her.

Andromeda took advantage of the lull to pull her body off the ground enough to spit at Bellatrix.

Furious with delight, Bellatrix shrieked. "There's your spirit of fun, Andy. I knew you had a little bit of fight in you. Crucio!"

Narcissa felt her insides go numb as she stood with her eyes closed to the scene. Only her ears heard Andromeda's strangled moans and Bella's wild laughter.

Finally, Bellatrix summoned her own wand. She stroked it with an odd complacency. "Yes," she hissed to herself, "I do think this will make all the difference. CRUCIO!"

And finally Andromeda lost it, a terrible sound like nothing else emitted from her. It was as if her lungs were on fire, the scream pierced like knives. Narcissa tried to block it out.

Bellatrix gave the sobbing Andromeda a lopsided grin. "You won't forget this, will you, dear? It's much better than muggle dueling, I think. But perhaps, we should emphasize… Crucio!" she shouted, terribly, madly, cruelly.

"Protego!" the spell was shouted with out feeling, but it was enough.

Bellatrix dodged the rebounding spell, giving her wandless victim a curious look. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Narcissa's wand, still pointing at Andromeda.

"Cissy," Bellatrix sighed. "Don't be such a bore."

Narcissa could only look past her at Andromeda who was covered in a cold sweat, her kind face marred with agony, too frail (or too afraid) to stand up.

"Bella, I think you've had enough fun for today," Narcissa said in a crisp, authoritative voice.

Bellatrix raised an eyebrow at her youngest sister, but lowered her wand with a twitch.

Narcissa stowed her own wand back in her robes. She didn't look at either of her sisters as she turned, as though undecided as to whom disgusted her more.

Bellatrix shook her head at Narcissa's passionless exit before smiling back at Andromeda. She knelt down beside her sister who made no move to get away but stared back at Bellatrix.

"Just kill me then, you witch," Andromeda whispered angrily. "Can't you just kill somebody? Must you drag it out… and then not even finish it?"

Bellatrix wiped Andromeda's hair out of her face, so that she could look properly into her eyes.

"Who would I have to talk to then?" she laughed, harshly delicate.

Andromeda shuttered as Bellatrix stroked her cheek once more. She was the obsessive feline who played with her food before eating it. She was a sinister seductress who lured her prey with a false sense of security in light of insanity. She was evil. But, Andromeda thought bitterly, Bellatrix Black was her sister.

The last time Andromeda had seen her sister was on the front page of the Daily Prophet, reporting the mass breakout of Askaban. She glared into those dark, heavy-lidded eyes with incredible ferocity as if hoping that, if she looked hard enough, maybe she would see the Bellatrix she loved. Not the monster.

Bellatrix ran her wand along the out stretched arm of her sister; it was enough to make Andromeda's blood curdle. Pain shot through her once more as dark magic ran through that wand. Her whole body felt clammy as Bellatrix leaned over her. Andromeda had the violent urge to throw up but fought it; she could not feed her sister anymore weakness.

Narcissa had stopped and gazed warily at her older sisters.

"Bella, leave her alone," she said in an unnaturally high voice.

"As you wish… Cissy," she murmured, grinning cruelly at Andromeda. "Goodbye, Andy…"

Andromeda looked up at her sister through tear-filled eyes. For less than a second, she saw something flicker behind Bellatrix's crazed expression. A faint glint of a past woman; her sister falling.

A desperate sort of pleading, almost like the innocence of a child falling into a dark pit, filled those eyes. The confidence was only in the mind; bellow it there was a certain vulnerability. Andromeda wanted to reach out and pull her falling sister out of the abyss.

But in less than a second, the image was gone as Bellatrix smirked.

Bellatrix stood up, kicked her sister in the side and threw her long black mane back and cackled loudly. She stepped over Andromeda and walked over to Narcissa. Linking arms with her, Bellatrix pushed the image of her traitorous sister out of her mind. For good. There was no use wasting another thought over it. Not when she still had her Cissy.

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Thank you for reading; the next scene will be up shortly. Reviews are appreciated.


	2. Narcissa Flees

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.

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The darkness of the Forbidden Forest was penetrated only by the flickering light of a small fire. The glow of the flames cast eerie shadows upon the faces of the two waiting women. Narcissa ran a tired hand through her unusually tangled hair. Her eyes looked empty and defeated. There was a nagging part of her that longed to leave the battle.

She sat on a log next to her sister, but they did not speak. There was a coldness between them, as if they had not spoken for a great length of time. Narcissa watched her sister out of the corner of her eye critically, as if hoping she could blame the state of her family on her. But even that was futile; after all, her sister was part of her family.

While Bellatrix did not look nearly as tired as Narcissa, she had evidently seen much heavier battle. Her face was covered in soot and grime. Specks of blood littered her robes and skin, though Narcissa noticed, little of it seemed to be her own. Her eyes danced with the reflection of the fire as she zapped nearby bugs with her wand.

Narcissa looked away with a shudder. She instead concentrated on wishing her son alive as she sat wondering why he hadn't entered the forest when the mark had burned. Suddenly, she felt a pang of jealousy for her sister as Bellatrix leaned her head on Narcissa's shoulder. Unhampered by the burden of love, Bellatrix entered battle without fear. Narcissa, on the other hand, didn't even care anymore. It was only her husband and son that kept her from running back to the safety of her manor.

"Ha!" Bellatrix laughed as she pointed her wand at a now writhing worm.

Just as quickly, Narcissa lost any feelings of jealousy she had ever had for her sister.

"Stop it, Bella," she said harshly.

Bellatrix raised her head just enough to give Narcissa a bemused stare. In that look, Narcissa felt somewhat foolish. She was acting like the older sister that she wasn't. She was acting like the older sister that her older sister wasn't.

"It's disgusting," Narcissa added quietly.

The worm stopped moving with a flash of green light as Bellatrix drew her self up to her full height, so that she looked down on Narcissa.

They merely glared at each other. However, they both knew that they were remembering the same words from the last time they had spoken.

"_It's disgusting!" Narcissa spat, as they entered her manor._

_Bellatrix hurried in behind her and quickly closed the door._

"_Don't you ever know when to stop?!" she continued in a hiss._

"_What is this?" Bellatrix jeered. "Defending filth like that?"_

_Narcissa spun around and faced Bellatrix._

"_She's our sister!" _

_A look of dawning spread over Bellatrix's face. She smiled tauntingly. "Why Cissy, this is so sweet! You still love her."_

_Narcissa fumed, her eyes wide._

"_Our sister, Bellatrix!"_

"_And a traitor, Narcissa," she replied darkly._

_Narcissa's lip twitched angrily as the image of Andromeda alone and sick in the middle of Diagon Alley resurfaced._

"_Your obsession with the Dark Lord has crippled your senses, Bella," Narcissa retorted, finally saying the words that had been aching inside of her for months._

_She was hardly surprised by the reaction her words induced._

_Livid, Bellatrix pointed her wand threateningly at her sister._

"_And your obsession with your pathetic son and coward of a husband has crippled yours!" Bellatrix shrieked._

_Narcissa's wand flew out of her robes so quickly that Bellatrix barely saw it as, with a bang, she was thrown onto the floor._

_Narcissa walked over to her sister and looked down upon her, feeling oddly powerful. Quivering, she said, "Don't you dare insult my family in my house."_

_Bellatrix laughed, though she remained on the floor, wandless, as Narcissa's was pointed at her chest._

"_Your house?" Bellatrix cackled, "It's my house as much as yours! It belongs to the Dark Lord, Cissy. You have no power here!"_

_She spat on the smooth stone floor._

_The curse came out of nowhere as Bellatrix was forced into unexpected agony. Both sisters were screaming, terrified. And then, as easily as it had started, the torture stopped._

_Narcissa was pale and frozen. A violent image of Bellatrix torturing Andromeda arose in her mind. She looked down at her wand, unable to believe that it had managed such a curse._

"_Bella…" she whispered, suddenly very vulnerable, "I didn't mean to…"_

_Panting, Bellatrix grabbed her wand and stood up slowly. She pointed it at her sister warily._

"_You learned from the best," she replied icily. The statement sounded like some sort of challenge._

_Narcissa trembled as her wand fell slack at her side._

_Bellatrix stared stonily into Narcissa's eyes and, in a whisper, snarled, "I would _never _hurt you, sister."_

_With a crack, Bellatrix disapperated, leaving Narcissa torn and shocked._

Eternities might have passed since then. But it had really only been a week or so. Narcissa had reviewed the day over and over again as if stuck in a nightmare. It had opened her eyes to the chilling effect Bellatrix was having on her. Narcissa suddenly realized how estranged their friendship had become.

But Bellatrix had pushed it out of her mind. Emotion like that was useless and crippling; something her sister had never acknowledged.

Her blood was dancing through her veins as she pranced to the castle. The battle had started again, but a smug feeling of victory protected her as numerous curses sailed around her head. She merely laughed; a deep, poisonous, exhilarating laugh that was more terrifying than then crazed look of success that gleamed in her eyes. Potter was dead. It was over. Finally, things might be right.

Out of the swarms of people who were fighting, haplessly ignorant to their seemingly obvious demise, Bellatrix saw her sister, running towards the castle, not even attempting to deflect the curses that flew dangerously close to her.

"Cissy!" she shouted, chasing the hooded figure.

But her sister did not stop. Bellatrix watched in horror as Yaxely's wand fired green sparks that could only belong to the killing curse. The curse had come within inches of Narcissa's arm when Bellatrix shot a curse back at Yaxely causing him to fall back, not dead, but impaired.

"Cissy!" Bellatrix said again, finally catching up to her sister.

Grabbing her hand she pulled Narcissa around to face her. Bellatrix's confused but still triumphant gaze found nothing similar in Narcissa's regretful but determined eyes.

"What is it?" she asked, in a caring voice she saved only for her sister.

Narcissa could not look into those dark beautiful eyes. Bellatrix lifted her sister's chin and gave her a crooked grin.

"Why are you acting like this? The Dark Lord has won! Potter is dead. And you were there! You were there to announce the great victory. How pleased the Dark Lord will be. You'll see, he'll forgive your family because you have proven yourself loyal!" Bellatrix's usual crazed, obsessive excitement was replaced with an innocent, sincere eagerness for everything to finally be the way she wanted it.

But Narcissa winced at her sister's words. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, as if determining what, or how much to say. "The Dark Lord… does not forgive."

Bellatrix's confusion turned to a fury as she looked over her sister's shoulder.

Narcissa had not been afraid to face the students of Hogwarts. Yaxley had not lost it and decided to curse her merely on a whim. Narcissa had not looked Bellatrix in the eye.

Narcissa was fleeing the fight that would insure the Dark Lord's victory.

Bellatrix seethed as off in the distance, in the direction Narcissa was heading, stood the silhouetted figure of Lucius Malfoy.

"How dare you leave _us_," she murmured in a terrifying whisper, her forehead inches away from that of her sister's.

Narcissa's expression gave away nothing but maybe, a pity for her sister? She tried to walk away but Bellatrix grabbed her wrist and pulled her around once more.

"Why would you leave now? Do you hold so much against the Dark Lord for punishing your precious husband, and rightfully so, that you can't even count yourself as one of his followers anymore? Does _this_ mean nothing to you?" Bellatrix spat furiously, thrusting her left forearm at her sister.

Narcissa winced, not at the mark, but at her sister's indignant expression of hysteria. "Bella," she said quietly, "_This_ has always meant more to you than to me."

A small, sickly scream issued from Bellatrix as her sister gave the elder a sorrowful look before running to her husband.

It took Bellatrix a moment to realize what this meant. Her sister had abandoned the cause of the Dark Lord once and for all. Her sister had abandoned her. And now, Narcissa would be seen as an enemy of the Death Eaters, of the Dark Lord, and of her.

"Come back, Cissy, you traitor!" shrieked Bellatrix, her wand aimed threateningly at the pale blonde figure. "TRAITOR!"

Bellatrix felt the world crumple around her as her wand shook dangerously in her hand. Narcissa would not listen to her. Because Narcissa didn't care about her anymore.

A searing, unbearable pain shot through her as tears threatened her vision. It was a pain far worse than that caused by the curse she now screamed.

"CRUCIO!" she cried at her sister. "CRUCIO, YOU TRAITOR!"

But her sister did not seem to even feel the effects of the curse. Bellatrix knew the reason why before the memory of her own words even surfaced.

It hadn't hurt because she didn't mean it; because she didn't want to believe it.

Narcissa turned around just in time to see Bellatrix fall in to a crumpled heap. It had been a very long time since Narcissa had seen her sister cry so she couldn't be sure if it was crying she heard or just screams of anger. The idea of Bellatrix, the most powerful woman Narcissa knew, crying, was terrible.

"Go and find your son!" Bellatrix shouted. "Find him and leave. Leave; just like Andy, you traitor!"

Her body was wracked with irrational sobs. "Go ahead and leave me," she whispered to herself.

Narcissa looked like she might run back to her sister before Lucius spoke.

"Draco," he reminded her stiffly. "Narcissa, we must find him, now!"

Narcissa turned to Lucius without so much as glancing at her sister. She wanted to make her stop. She wanted to slap sense into her sister's childish mind. She wanted her sister to be the sister who had laughed with her, not at her, when they were little. She wanted her sister, her Bella, back.

"I hope I never see your pathetic face again!" Narcissa heard her sister scream.

Somehow, they both knew this was untrue.

Narcissa imagined her sister standing up and pointing a shaky wand in her direction. Bellatrix would always stand up again, in the literal sense. The strong, empowered woman, that Narcissa once admired, would always put up a fight; put on a mask. But deep down, Narcissa saw that the lunatic, her sister, whom she loved, had fallen.

Narcissa ran off with her husband, to gather her family and suddenly, Bellatrix was very alone.

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Thank you for reading; reviews are appreciated.


	3. Bellatrix Falls

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Harry Potter series.

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She was alone on the cold wet grass of the Hogwarts grounds. In the distance she could hear muffled shouts of pain and victory, the explosions of spells hitting marble and glass, but mostly the sound of nothingness. The jets of light that filled the air like fireworks meant nothing to her at the present. She was in shock, she was betrayed, and sitting in her tattered robes with her wand dangling uselessly in her hand, she was vulnerable.

The deep feelings that pervaded every inch of her body were alien and disconcerting. She had told herself that she had no room for love, and yet here she was feeling the loss of love. Tears flowed down her face, but she did not know how to cry. More or less, Bellatrix did not know how to feel, but all she could do was feel the deep numbness of being truly alone.

She wanted to shake off the feeling, to cast it aside and laugh at it. Such emotion was for the weak, and she, she was strong. A rage slowly overtook her sadness and she was comforted, for this feeling was familiar. After the rage would come the power and adrenaline that fueled her. And with that power and adrenaline, insanity arrived, and Bellatrix would be alive.

A familiar voice rang out behind her as a curse flew over her head.

"Stand up and fight me, Bellatrix," the voice shouted.

Bellatrix's face became distorted and maddened; a delightfully deranged grin curved her features.

She spun around quickly, knocking her opponent off his feet.

Bellatrix threw her head back and cackled as her opponent hurried to his feet clumsily.

"NEVILLE LONGBOTTOM?!" she shrieked. "You think that you are any match for me?!"

Neville frowned but did not seem shaken. "I'm going to avenge my parents. I'm going to avenge Harry Potter!" he said confidently, sending sparks at her.

"Harry Potter, Harry Potter, the Dark Lord has killed your precious Potter, boy!" Bellatrix taunted in amusement, fending off Neville with apparent ease. "Just like I'm going to finish you off, Longbottom. Do you think Mummy and Daddy will miss you much?"

Neville's wand shot off deadly looking jets of light that Bellatrix danced away from.

"Come, come Neville. You can do much better than that. Or are you just as soft as your dad. He barely put up a fight, you know. It was so very easy… almost, disappointing. Is that what you are Neville? A disappointment?"

"Don't you dare…" he stammered loudly, concentrating his full attention on attacking his opponent.

"Don't, don't, oh please no!" Bellatrix mocked, "Much more like your mother. She struggled terribly. It was so very fun…"  
"NO!" Neville shouted, sending a curse at her chest.

Bellatrix deflected the curse with a swish of her wand.

"You see, I've come full circle now, Longbottom. I put your parents in their place, and now I'll do the same to you," Bellatrix said, but she was no longer laughing. She was filled only with the determination to finish the job she had started, and to finish it right. "CRUCIO!"

Every little bit of feeling she had left she put into that curse. Bellatrix felt an enragement she had never felt before, not particularly directed at Neville, but at how the world had finally bit her back. She felt the curse explode out of her wand, her hand was shaking as it held her wand, her long hair blew backwards with the strength of the curse, and her face was alive with the reddish haze of the spell. Bellatrix tortured as if it was her last chance to do so.

She wanted to stand there the rest of her life and watch Neville meet his horrible, painful end. She reveled in his torment, because with each bloodcurdling howl of pain Neville emitted, a little part of Bellatrix healed and she felt no longer.

But within the castle she heard a scream, and her senses were awoken. The scars were cut open, fresh with the blood of feeling, and somebody squeezed lemon juice into her open wounds. It was her master's voice, yelling with anger. With no one else besides him, he needed Bellatrix. And Bellatrix was so glad to come to his aide. To fight for him, with him. To die by his side.

She ran to the castle with incredible speed, forgetting about Neville, forgetting about her sisters, forgetting about her life before Potter had been killed. Her robes billowed behind her as she ran, for she was dancing. Wild and with abandon, she danced to the swansong of someone's life, certainly not her own, but someone's. Far off in the distance someone she had once known died. A whispering voice without a name, it had been clinging to her desperately, its fingers slipping over the years until its grip was that of a fingernail. Across the grounds of Hogwarts, across the grounds of battle, her conscience died.

Her eyes brimmed with tears of delight as she stormed into the Great Hall to join her master. As she ran to fight with him, she was met by three foolish young girls. And one of them was a mudblood, the other two were blood traitors. Their spells were simple, predictable, and juvenile for a witch as great as the terrible Bellatrix Lestrange. Hardened not in Azkaban, but in herself, she fought without compassion.

She taunted them with every clever insult she could create. They ignored her cries and shouted instructions back and forth to each other; as if they really thought they stood a chance. Bellatrix moved forward, forcing the three girls to step backwards, closer to the walls of the Great Hall. She stood back to back with her master, and she could feel the power reverberate from him to her. They were the strongest of their cause, the last ones standing amongst the piles of decay and injured warriors of both sides.

Bellatrix barely concentrated on her opponents as her robes brushed against those of her master. As he turned his head quickly to meet what he thought was a new challenger, he saw Bellatrix's face filled with the strongest loyalty he had ever known, and his face made something like a smile.

Bellatrix's spirits soared as reveled in their mutual triumph. They would win, as Master and Unquestioning Servant, but also as partners in battle.

The three girls she battled pressed in closer to her, their determination as pliable as her own. But she was quickly tiring of them. There was no sport to their game. And she wanted to help her master. She wanted to be at his very side when he destroyed the final remnants of the Order of the Phoenix. Her wand blazed with green sparks as she sent killing curses in each of their directions.

Bellatrix spun around once to look at her master in one last, desperate hope for him to return her gaze with the same longing.

But a deafening cry brought her out of her trance. As she spun back to face the noise, Bellatrix laughed with incredible force as Molly Weasley charged at her. What a pleasure it would be to finish off the matriarch of the biggest bunch of muggle lovers known to her world. It would be an honor for her to kill the filth in front of her master.

But Molly's curses flew closer and closer to Bellatrix's skin, singing the hems of her robes. Bellatrix returned the fire with an even greater ferocity, snarling at her opponent.

She taunted the woman, because Molly's fury was a powerful motivation, a deviant from her own weaknesses, as Bellatrix was quickly slipping into a strange distraction.

"YOU-WILL-NEVER-TOUCH-OUR-CHILDREN-AGAIN!" Molly Weasley shouted.

Bellatrix laughed wildly. Her arms were spread wide open, a gesture that, Bellatrix should have realized, welcomed death. But as she knew death was knocking, she hadn't seen herself answer.

The face of Molly Weasley became oddly distorted as it mingled with the gleaming streams of sunlight that trickled in through the windows. Molly's face became that of her own mother's.

"_We named you Bellatrix because we knew you'd be a great warrior, undefeatable," her mother had said, "you are so strong."_

But that couldn't be, for in death, Bellatrix failed her mother.

Her mother's face became her rebellious cousin's.

"_Come on, you can do better than that!" Sirius taunted her._

She was dying like her cousin; full of obnoxious pride and an inability to fear. But suddenly Bellatrix was trembling inside.

The face became that of the strong man she had spent fourteen years with in Azkaban.

"_Bella, love, you're such an insufferable bitch," Rodopholus laughed fondly, and he might have been stroking her hair._

She had never loved her husband, but they had been partners. And she couldn't even think of the last time she'd seen him.

The face she saw now was terribly familiar, her mudblood-loving sister.

"_I never wanted you to hate me," Andromeda sobbed, "It's just that you don't understand how to love."_

When Andromeda had left, people had said that they could tell a difference at last between the appearances of the two sisters. Bellatrix wondered what her sister would look like when she heard.

The face became a tender image of a frightened child, her youngest sister.

"_You'll always be here," a timid five year old Narcissa asked, "to protect me?"_

Bellatrix wondered if Lucius would protect her Cissy. But never as well as she had.

The face of her youngest and dearest sister slowly fell back into that of Molly Weasley.

Bellatrix seemed to float oddly, as if suspended, in the air between the enchanted ceiling and the stone floor of the Great Hall. She was in limbo between life and death. It was a place that she had formerly held power over. A place she had sent her victims without second thought. If she could experience regret, she might have, for the limbo, the unknowing, was the most terrifying experience.

Suddenly the air grew sharp and cold as all eyes fell upon her, and she was no longer suspended, but falling.

There was an earsplitting shriek as her master cried for her.

And suddenly everything was worth it. Dying didn't seem that bad. She had, after all, proven herself to be his most loyal servant.

Detached from all other aspects of life, she had clung onto him obsessively. A raving lunatic, a madwoman, and a little girl craving attention, she had thrown away everything for him. For him she had transformed; into a criminal, into a torturer, into a monster. In him she had lost herself and those she had once loved.

But as she hit the floor with a thud, he had screamed for his best lieutenant, her.

Every one cheered as Bellatrix Lestrange fell to her end.

But it had been worth it.

_He_ had screamed as she fell for the last time. And, Bellatrix thought feebly, before entering death, if she had known her demise would make someone, would make him care, she would have fallen a long time ago.

* * *

And with that, the threeshot is complete! Thanks for reading, once again, reviews are appreciated greatly! I'd love to know especially what you thought of my interpretation of Bellatrix's last minutes and her final fall. Thanks!


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